Oleander: A Great Expectations Reimagining

4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars | 832 ratings

Price: 21.83

Last update: 01-12-2025


About this item

Caspien Deveraux was poison.

It took me years to realise that he hadn't been born like that. He'd been cultivated and nurtured by a careful hand and a bitter heart. When I first met him, he was a bud. One primed to bloom beautifully and deadly. One I should have torn out at the root.

I loathed him. I loved him. And until him, I hadn't known just how completely those two things could exist at once.


Top reviews from the United States

  • Caity
    5.0 out of 5 stars A top book of 2024, easily.
    Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2024
    Oleander is an absolute knockout, and I can’t recommend it enough, especially if you’re in the mood for a chest crusher. It pulled me straight under and rolled over me like a heavy wave. In fact, I ended up marathoning the book because it was so intense, but I mean that in the best way possible.

    This book is fairly different from many romances out today because it reads more like a Greek epic melodrama, spanning years. There’s potent tragedy, malevolence, pain and lessons learned. Every character & interaction is afforded the perfect amount of detail and time. The story is lush and beautifully fleshed out.

    Both boys are lonely, sad and broken in very different ways and couldn't be more opposite in personality. It’s told from Jude’s POV throughout, but this makes Caspian’s life mysterious and lends to a sense of dread. You want resolution for Jude, while at the same time you become more intensely curious about Caspian. They make their separate choices to choose love before they even know what it means or how to show it to each other, and after years of pining, heartache, growth and healing they eventually get their HEA.

    Oleander is going to stay with me for a long long time.
  • Laura
    5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful
    Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2024
    Achingly beautiful and artfully written. The characters jump off the page with heartrending emotion. What am absolute gem of a reimagined classic. I will now always see the story the way this author has told it. Absolutely phenomenal read.
  • Ruby Vang
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful Book About A Man Who Pines
    Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2024
    I’ve read plenty of books where one mc pines for the other, but I think this one goes beyond that lol. It’s ONLY pining and bittersweet romance throughout the book! The writing was beautiful and tortuous. I definitely cried and hurt for the mc. I also like that the POV is the top mc which is breathtaking.
  • Amazon Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars Well written retelling
    Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2024
    If you loved Song of Achilles and Great Expectations, then this is the book for you.
    A raw sexual awakening and lifelong love story that is well written and more engrossing than most romance novels.
    As always, be mindful of the trigger warnings.
    Here they are not wrung out to up the angst, but rather flow as an integral part of the story.
  • Maia
    5.0 out of 5 stars Caspien & Jude ❤️❤️ Love them!
    Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2024
    Oleander by Scarlett Drake ????????
    This is one of these love stories which will stay on your mind forever.

    Jude & Caspien, I love them both❤️❤️ and I was so happy when they finally found their way to each other.
    Their story is so heartbreaking and my heart still hurts for them. Poor Jude, he loves Caspien with all his heart and endures so much. Caspien has his own secrets and also has to pay the price for his choices. This story is unique and written with exquisite style.
    I also highly recommend listening to their love story on audiobook. The narrator George Naylor's voice and performance is amazing. He is a perfect Jude. I absolutely love it.
    I would like to read more about happy Jude & Caspien...
    Highly recommend you to read and listen to this book. It's a new classic.
    Customer image
    Maia
    5.0 out of 5 stars Caspien & Jude ❤️❤️ Love them!
    Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2024
    Oleander by Scarlett Drake ????????
    This is one of these love stories which will stay on your mind forever.

    Jude & Caspien, I love them both❤️❤️ and I was so happy when they finally found their way to each other.
    Their story is so heartbreaking and my heart still hurts for them. Poor Jude, he loves Caspien with all his heart and endures so much. Caspien has his own secrets and also has to pay the price for his choices. This story is unique and written with exquisite style.
    I also highly recommend listening to their love story on audiobook. The narrator George Naylor's voice and performance is amazing. He is a perfect Jude. I absolutely love it.
    I would like to read more about happy Jude & Caspien...
    Highly recommend you to read and listen to this book. It's a new classic.
    Images in this review
    Customer image
  • Nikki Morris
    5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful, beautiful, emotional, and so well written.
    Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2024
    Scarlett’s writing is always so emotional and beautiful, and that’s exactly what this story was.

    Jude was so relatable. His self exploration and life journey was beautiful to witness. I would have loved some Cas POVs, but that would have been so tough to read. It was hard enough to go through the heartbreak from Jude’s POV but add abuse on top of it?! My poor baby Cas.

    Some of these reviews on GR ain’t it. How do y’all read 600+ pages and not realize Cas was abused and manipulated?! I can forgive Jude for not realizing it because he was also 15, but y’all are grownass adults reading this book and hating a child for being groomed. Weird behavior.

    I will forever recommend Scarlett’s books to people. She’s such a rare writer with this extraordinary talent to hit you right in the soul. I knew she was special after reading Hamartia, but this was on another level.

    I’ll never forget this book.
  • julia
    5.0 out of 5 stars sweet, captivating
    Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2025
    I tried this on a whim based off of reviews comparing it to my other adored series, captive prince. Drake is a really wonderful author. The characters are so frustratingly human. The dialogue is realistic and unique to each character
  • Bill Hayes
    5.0 out of 5 stars Believe the 5* reviews - this is a masterful novel. Way above all the other m/m novels out there.
    Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2024
    Wonderfully written with complex, evolving characters. The story flows from beginning to end with no padding or dull sections and no hint of common m/m story tropes.
    Mostly written as a flashback the author drops little puzzle pieces along the way giving a hint, but never a full view, of where the story might be going. And even at the end you have to think back through the story to understand how all of the pieces correctly fit together. It's so refreshing not being able to guess how the story will end.
    And the bedroom scenes were neither timid nor awkward nor just inserted to add spice.
    I rarely re-read books but I will this one.
    I wish I could forget it all so I could read it for the first time again.

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